They also found that confusion over the respective roles of councils and regional school commissioners is causing “significant gaps” in the DfE’s knowledge of the performance of individual schools. It has warned that the gaps, together with “weak” oversight arrangements, can mask problems – like those found during the Trojan Horse inquiry into allegations of extremism in schools in Birmingham last year – until “serious damage” has been done.

A spokeswoman for the DfE rejected the findings of the report. She said: “We have already intervened in more than 1,000 schools over the past four years, pairing them up with excellent sponsors to give pupils the best chances.” “That compares with the years and even decades of neglect many schools suffered under local authority control. ’